Earth Shakers - Page 5 of 7 - ...touching heaven, changing earth.

The Fasting And Prayer That Move Mountains

Reading Time: 4 minutes

silhouette photo of man on cliff during sunset — Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash

Jesus promised that if we spoke to a mountain (anything that poses as a problem or challenge in our lives), even with a mustard-seed-sized faith, without doubting in our hearts, it would obey us and do whatever we asked it to do, including removing from its place and throwing itself into the sea (figuratively speaking) – Mark 11:23-24 (NIV); Matthew 17:20. In fact, in the first Scripture, He further promised that whatever we asked God for, in prayer, will be done for us. And in the second one, He ended with, “and nothing will be impossible for you.” What, then, are the benefits of fasting and prayer as Christians, you might ask, if we can only speak to a problem and get it solved? 🤔

The Question

The important question we find ourselves asking, however, is why is it that when we pray over a sickness or need, which is a mountain in its own right, we don’t always get answers? Come on, let’s face it. Sometimes (if not most times), we pray with so much faith (way bigger than a mustard seed; in our own eyes, at least) and no doubt soever in our hearts?

30 Lessons Drawn from the Miracles of Jesus – #7

Reading Time: 6 minutes

God Is Never Early or Late (Always Right on Time) – God’s Modus Operandi (MO)

Action item: Please read the story in each section (or, at least, be familiar with it), before you read the discussion under it.

First of all, no one can claim to have a complete understanding of God’s mode of operation (MO). Having said that, this miracle lesson will only seek to provide some insight into God’s MO. And, hopefully, after you’re done reading, you will begin to understand why some of your prayers seem like they have not been answered.

KEY POINT

Reading Time: 2 minutes

I remember reading “Rich Dad Poor Dad” after ignoring the book on bookshelves for many years. I was both enthralled and amazed at it. Enthralled by the rich content of it and amazed that I knew way a good number of people who have read the book through, but still didn’t look like their life was up to much. I confess I didn’t finish it, but the less than half I read were filled with easy-to-implement, quick-to-execute principles that made me always stop in-between lines to wonder, “If it is this easy, how come many are still broke?”

30 Lessons Drawn from the Miracles of Jesus – #6

Reading Time: 2 minutes

#6. Sometimes, Jesus can visit an entire city just to meet one person. (Mark 5:1-20)

According to Elizabeth Fletcher, ‘On the Sea of Galilee, there are frequent storms.’ And I suppose that everyone at that time knew that. So, why did Jesus and His disciples embark on such a dangerous journey at night which nearly cost them their lives (Mark 4:35-41)? It was just so that Jesus could have a personal encounter with one man. You see, this man had been deranged and tormented by demons for a long time (Luke 8:27). He had no hope of being saved. He was a “walking dead.” Nobody wanted him. Even his family members must have given up on Him. Then Jesus shows up, knowing fully well that if he healed the man, it would mean that He could not further His cause in the city, yet, He healed him anyway, because that was His sole purpose of embarking on that dangerous journey that night. He came just for the one man whom no one else wanted.

Continue reading “30 Lessons Drawn from the Miracles of Jesus – #6”

PROVERBS 31 WOMAN Part 1

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Have you studied Proverbs 31 of late or at all? I have over and again, and I can tell you there’s pure wisdom much more than meets the eyes.

When people want to throw accolades at a woman (often at birthdays and special moments), we ascribe awesome qualities to her and sum it up as being a typical ‘Proverbs 31 woman’ to express that she is a complete set of virtues. I have noticed from my little study that, like I said, there is much more to that. We’ll dissect these virtues, maybe not exhaustively, but intently.

Continue reading “PROVERBS 31 WOMAN Part 1”

NIGHT PLAN

Reading Time: 2 minutes

I was in Junior Secondary School when our Integrated Science teacher taught us Photosynthesis. Of course it didn’t stop at plant using water, sunlight and chlorophyll to produce food, there were many ‘revelations’. One of the mind-blowing ones was the fact that plants gather energy in the day but grow at night. So plants gather virtue in the day but use it at night. You might need a school fees refund if you didn’t know this earlier.
Continue reading “NIGHT PLAN”

30 Lessons Drawn from the Miracles of Jesus – #5

Reading Time: 3 minutes

#5. Demons tremble in the presence of Jesus. (Mark 1:21-28; 5:1-20)

“One with God is a majority.” You’ve heard that phrase many times, but have you really ever stopped to ponder what it really means? Here, we see thousands of demons trembling in the presence of Jesus. According to the commentary from the New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, ‘At full strength, a Roman legion numbered 6,000 men. The name had come to signify a well-organized group possessing great power.’ The demons, of course, may not have been exactly 6,000 in number, but they were probably uncountable. They were surely more in number than the physical number of Jesus and His disciples put together. But, you see, it wasn’t just Christ and His disciples who were there at the time. The power and supernatural presence that accompany Christ or His followers are like the stars in the sky – they are too many to count.

Elisha said to his assistant, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” – 2 Kings 6:16-17.

Jesus knew and understood that then, we should know and understand that now too. We are Christ’s followers, and we carry the Spirit of Christ everywhere we go. We can exercise that authority Christ has given us, over sicknesses, diseases, difficult situations, and even over principalities, powers, demons, and the dark forces of this world. (See Luke 10:18-21; Matthew 10:8; Ephesians 6:10-18.) Continue reading “30 Lessons Drawn from the Miracles of Jesus – #5”

PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Destruction was on the rampage and things were going haywire. The women of the land had been commissioned to wail and interceded until the Spirit be poured upon from on high and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field. However, they were not to stop there. They were to “whet” that fruitful field with more tears until it became a forest. They had to intercede more until the progress advanced from being a fruitful field to becoming a forest. Continue reading “PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS?”

WASHED SWORDS

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Isaiah the Prophet speaking said, “My sword shall be bathed in Heaven: behold it shall come down upon Idumea…”(Isaiah 34:5). In other words, before his sword would be able fall upon the land, it had to first be bathed in Heaven.

I know a thing or two about swords… biblically. For starters, we know that the sword is a representative of the Word of God (Heb 4:12). We also know that the sword has been given a mandate to speak and not keep quiet; once again showing that the sword is the Word. (Jer 49:6-7). As Ambassadors of God, we cannot have a sheathed sword when the Lord our Leader has drawn his own sword out. Therefore, it is expected of us to speak as the Lord does. Continue reading “WASHED SWORDS”

30 Lessons Drawn from the Miracles of Jesus – #4

Reading Time: 4 minutes

#4. God expects us to grow in faith. (Mark 4:35-41)

As long as we’re in Christ, God expects us to grow in faith. The disciples of Jesus had, before the passage in consideration (Mark 4:35-41), witnessed countless miracles that Jesus performed (including those that were not recorded in Scripture – see John 20:30-31; 21:25), yet their faith remained small (or weak). Seriously, Jesus raised the widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17), Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56), and Lazarus (John 11:1-44). Isn’t it surprising that someone would still be afraid of dying, even though he is a friend to the One who has power over death? Yet, we catch ourselves in the same situation many times – when the car starts to skid off the road, when the plane is hit by turbulence and begins to shake, when you feel so sick that it seems as though your spirit is gradually leaving your body. We have all, at one time or another, feared that we might die.

The longer we are in a relationship with God, the more we should commit to trusting Him completely. When two people are in a relationship, they will expect to trust each other more as their relationship progresses. This is God’s expectation too, and I will give you a hypothetical scenario.

Continue reading “30 Lessons Drawn from the Miracles of Jesus – #4”